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Camp Randall 
Memorial Arch 



DEDICATED JUNE 18-19, 1912 



1861 



Ttcrfzi, Urn to, ill. 



Remember old Camp Randall, 

And the days of sixty-one, 

When we were gay young soldiers- 
I 

Our service just begun; 

' Remember our dear comrades 
Who marched with us away 
But fell amid the strife, — 
Remember them to-day. 



1912 






LIBRARY Of CONGRESS 



JAN?01921 

DOCUMENTS Division 



CAMP RANDALL MEMORIAL ARCH 
Dedication June 18-19, 1912 



Dear Comrade: — I am writins^- this letter to you so that 1 ma\' 
tell you about something- in which I know you will be interested. 

I told you in my letter to you last year that a movement was 
.on foot to erect at the Dayton street entrance to Old Camp Ran- 
dall a memorial arch and gateway. Well, the legislature of 1911 
passed a bill setting apart a piece of ground just inside the gate 
where we used to go in and out — when we had passes — not to ex- 
ceed four hundred square rods, for a Camp Randall Memorial Park, 
and appropriating $23,000 for the improvement of the park 
and to erect at the entrance a Memorial Arch. The bill provided 
for the appointment of a commission of three comrades whose 
business it should be to cause this work to be done. 

Ciovernor Mc(io\ern appointed for this commission three as 
capable and worthy comrades as could be found in the state. — 
Colonel j. .\. Watrous. an Iron Brigade soldier, adjutant of the 
Sixth Wisconsin ; Colonel C. E. Warner, at the close of the war the 
gallant one-armed commander of the Thirty-sixth Wisconsin ; 
and W. J. McKay, a boy soldier of the Forty-fourth Wisconsin. 
All had their first lessons in the ser\icc that helped save our country 
from disunion in Camp Randall. 

These comrades went about their work with a will. — with as 
much real patriotism as they had in the old canip fifty years ago. 
It was not an easy thing to select a design when many persons 
had different opinions about what would be best. After courteous 
consideration of many suggested ideas and plans, the members 
of the commission decided upon the form of arch to he erected 
and gave the contract for the work to the Woodbury (iranite 
Com])any. the same ])eoide who are building the new State Capitol. 

Last May the work on the arch was so far along that the coiu- 
mission decided upon Tuesday and Wednesday. June 1<S and 19. 
as the time for the dedication services. It was suggested that 



those two days would be a most fitting time for a general re- 
union of regiments once in Camp Randall, and so certain regiments 
made plans for coming together once more. The two taking 
special pains to get into line were the Eleventh and Twenty-third. 

There was some talk among certain comrades about sending 
notice to every member of the Twelfth that a reunion of our regi- 
ment would be held on that occasion. I did not send such notice 
to you. for I feared that if we should undertake such a gathering 
it would have a tendency to ]>reak u]) the reunion we had voted 
to hold at Viola this year. I did. however, give notice in some 
papers that a tent would be put up on the grounds for the use of 
such members of the Twelfth as would be there. 

Though the arch proper had been completed before the time of 
our meeting, the two pieces of statuar}- — one of a boy soldier just 
come into camp, the other of the Grand Army man fifty years 
after — had not arri\ed. Because of this we were all greatly dis- 
appointed. The commission had been assured that the figures 
would be here in time, or thev would ha\e put the date of the dedi- 
cation later. 

I have said that the arch had. excepting these figures, been 
completed, yet. when I come to think of it. I must tell you that some- 
thing else was lacking. Under the archway, on each side, there 
is to be set in the wall a bronze plate. On one plate there is to 
be the general inscripition concerning the arch, on the other the 
number of every regiment and batterv that v.-as organized in 
Camp Randall during the war. with its date of muster in and 
that of its muster out. Also, there will be i)ut down the num- 
ber of regiments and batteries, with dates of muster in and out of 
the service, of those that were organized in other military camps 
in \\'isconsin. 

The regiments organized in Camp Randall were the 2d. 5th. 
6th. 7th, 8th, 11th. 12th, 15th, 16th. 17th. 20th. 23d. 29th. 30th, 
36th, 37th, 38th. 40th, 42d, 44th, 45th, 46th. 47th, 49th, 50th, 52d 
and 53d; also, the 11th and 12th batteries of light artillery and 
Companies A, E, F, (i, H, I. K. L and M of the 1st heavy artillery. 
Company (i of Berdan's United States Sharpshooters was also 
organized in Cani]) Randall. This makes 27 regiments, two bat- 
teries of light artillery, nine comi)anies of heavy artillery and one 
company of sharpshooters. 

These troops were organized in Milwaukee: ^ Camp Scott, 



the 1st. 3 montlis, infantry and 1st regiment reorijanized. after 
its three montlis of ser\iee. for three years. Camp Sigel, the 
9th. 24tli. 2^)lh and 27th infantry. Camp Holton, the lOth infan- 
tr\. Camp Trowbridge, same i)lace as Cam]) Mijhon. the ISth in- 
fantry. Camp Washburn, the 2Sih. .Uth. 3.^th, .S<Hli. 4.^1, 4Sth 
and 51st infantry. 2d eavalry, l.^th lij,dit artillery and Companies 
B. C and D of the 1st heavy artillery. This makes, in the four 
Milwaukee camps, fourteen infantry ret^iments. one of cavalry, one 
battery of light artillery and three companies of heavy artillery. 

These troops were organized in Racine, at Camp Utley. the 
19th. 22d and 33d infantry and four companies of the 31st; and the 
1st, 2d, 3d, 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th, cSth, 9th and 10th batteries of light 
artillery. Si.x companies of the 31st were organized at Prairie 
du Chien. 

The 1st cavalry went First into Camp Fremont at Ripon 
but moved later to Camp Harvey, Kenosha. 

The 3d and 14th infantry regiments were organized at Fond 
du Lac. When the 3d was there it was Camp Hamilton. • The 14th 
called it Camp Wood. 

The 21st and 32d infantry regiments were organized at Camp 
Bragg, ( Jshkosh. 

The 13th infantry was organized at Camp Tredway, Janes- 
ville, and the 3d cavalry at Camp Barstow near the same city. 

The 25th infantry was oi-ganized at Camp Salomon, La Crosse. 

The 19th infantry remained only a short time at Camp Utley 
before it was sent to Camp Randall for duty. — guarding Confed- 
erate prisoners. — where it was fully organized. The 25th. after 
its Indian campaign in Miiuiesota. si)ent some time in Camp Ran- 
dall before going south. 

I do not know that you ha\e cared to read all about these Wis- 
consin camps. Comrade. If not. you may skip it. All the facts 
I have told you will go into bronze on our memorial arch. They 
are worth recording in a permanent form. .\lso, as I have said be- 
fore in this letter, the dates of the muster in and muster out of all 
these troops is put down. Our own regiment was fully mustered 
Xovember 5. 1(S61, and mustered out at Louis\ille. Kentucky, 
July 16th, 1865. These bronze i)lates. each about 40 .x 50 inches 
in size, have not been put in ])lace. but they are being made. I 
think I can send you pictures of them next year. 

I may add here that stejxs are being taken to put up suitable 



markers at these twelve military camps outside of Madison, telling 
what troops were or^y'anized there. 

You ma\- he interested to know that the eonimission whose 
business it was to erect markers in the great national military 
park at X'icksburg. telling where every regiment and battery was 
on duty in the siege, and to erect, also, our beautiful Wisconsin 
memorial there, the picture of which I sent you in my letter of last 
year, intend publishing in their forthcoming report to the 
governor a sketch of the full service of every body of troops con- 
'nected with the campaign and the siege. The story of the service of 
our regiment. Comrade, will be found in that report. — a l)ook well 
worth having. 

And now I think I would better come back to the reunion in 
Camp Randall and the dedication of our arch. On Tue.sday morn- 
ing there were many ])eople on the way to Camp Randall. The 
beautiful archway stood invitingly open and no one asked anyone 
for a pass. On the top of the knoll where the old guardhouse 
used to stand, Comrade Pratt, our comrade John Gallagher had 
erected a tent a hundred feet long. At one end there was a plat- 
form, and all about there was an army of chairs. Nearby stood a 
Rest Tent put up by the Ladies of the ("irand Army, with a piano, 
chairs — rockers, even. — for the weary. At the foot of the hill the 
ladies of the Relief Corps had erected a big mess tent, with a 
commissary department, where, during the encampment, we got 
excellent meals — ice cream included — for twenty-tive cents. By 
contrast of ideas we remembered the old mess house of a half a 
century ago. Not far from the big audience tent there were two 
other tine tents, — one for the comrades of the 11th and the other for 
those of the 12th ; and they were open for everybody else who 
wanted to use them. Just west of the tents stood two war-time 
cannon, — as harmless dogs of war as if they were muzzled. And 
then just back of us, standing about sixty feet inside the old gate 
where wc used to show our ])asses, was the real center of at- 
traction for those two days, — our beautiful arch. 

All about these grounds there were hundreds of people. There 
were grizzled old veterans along with their silver-haired dames. 
There were sons and daughters of veterans, with grandsons and 
granddaughters. Boys and girls came in off the streets. Auto- 
mobiles brought load after load of peojjlc from up town until the 
hill looked much as it did on a ])leasant afternoon when folks used 



to come out from the city to see us on dress j^arade. 

Tliere was nothing- formal on the program, except for a little 
while in the afternoon, till the evening- camptire. In the meantime the 
reunion feature of our program was in full swing. ( )1(1 conu-ades and 
their friends loitered around and visited as best i)leased them, 'i'he 
whole thing was a reunion in the hest ])ossible sense. A drum 
corps kept the music g'oing the most of the time, while grou])s 
of comrades sang the old cam]) songs. ( )thers told stories of 
life in Camji Randall tiftv years ago. 

At two o'clock in the afternoon the old comrades of Wiscon- 
sin regiments got into line and had a short march around the 
grounds. When they came hack in line near the tents Comrade 
Georg-e B. Merrick. Com])any A of the 30th Wisconsin, called the 
roll of regiments, asking all who belonged to each regiment, as its 
number was called, to stei) to the front, and then to march ofY to 
one side so that they could confer together, .\fter this was o\er 
the crowd gathered around the toj) of the hill, where one of the 
men of our regiment gave a talk upon old Camp Randall as it 
used to l)e, i)ointing out the various points of interest of those days, 
and answering such (|uestions as were asked. 

The Big Campfire 

When 8 o'clock came that evening there was a great crowd on 
hand for the cami)tire. The big tent was jxicked full and the crowd 
reached away beyond. Kxactly at eight o'clock a match was ap- 
plied to the pile of tar barrels out in front of where the old 
guardhouse used to l)e. Then there was a most interesting camp 
scene. It reminded me of the i)itch pine tires on a dark night in 
the Carolinas. As we wanted this to be a genuine camptire we had 
no other light, and in the great red glow of these flames we sang 
our camp songs and listened to elex'en ra'pid-hre talks by old 
comrades, all but one of whom had once dwelt in tents on that old 
cam]) ground. — E. R. Reed, of the 2d infantry; |. .\. Watrous. 6th; 
Byron S. Williams. 7th; A. (i. Weissert. 8th; W. H. Bennett. 11th; 
\'an S. Bennett, 12th; Pliny Norcross, 13th; David (i. James, 16th; 
George B. Merrick, 30th ; Colonel C. K. Warner, 36th ; and Bishoj) 
Samuel Fallows. 32d, 40th and 49th. All these talks were of just 
the kind that make a cam])tire interesting". — short, bright and to 
the point. 

And. Conn-ade McCalhun. you should have heard the singing 



that night as done l)y that great crowd. It was truly inspiring. 
None of us who were there can easily forget it. All l)ut one song 
was sung bv the crowd. Rdward ."^wain, one of the sweet singers 
of ^Madison, san.g in a rich, full, smooth tone that sweetest of 
soldier songs. — 

Tenting tonight on the old camp ground. 
while the rest of us kept silent and listened — and remembered. 

Let me tell you. Comrade Starkey, that during all this big 
camplire the peo])le in the great crowd were as (|uiet during the 
speaking as if they were in church, — e\en the bunch of small boys 
who crowded around the speakers' platform. I wish you could 
have been there to breathe in the si)irit of the occasion. 

That night. Comrade Campbell. 1 slept ni Camp Randall, — my 
son and I. I had a notion that I wanted to do just this thing once 
more and Lou wanted to keep me company. I did not expect that 
when we were in camp in LSOl. 

During the forenoon of the next dav there was no formal 
program. People visited to suit themselves, and various ])unches 
of comrades held their reunions. In the tent of the 11th Wisconsin 
there were sixty-five registered, and there were lifty-four of the 
survivors of the 23d. 

( )f our own regiment the following comrades were present a 
whole or part of the time: Adjutant Levi M. Hresee ; Hos])ital 
Steward Joseph Curtis; Baldwin Rathbun, Company R; William 
B. Pine, Thomas Wilson and Erick Paul. Company C ; Charles Bliss 
Company D ; Edwin Robinson, ( )rson Wright and Hosea W. Rood, 
Company E; Captain Van S. Bennett. John Sutherland. Edgar Eno. 
Albert J. Savage, Henry Shafer, Ransom Kellogg and L. D. Kel- 
logg, Company I, — seventeen in all. 

We held a pleasant meeting, and, after considerable discussion, 
decided that it would not be wise to undertake another reunion this 
year. It was thought that, as several had come to that meeting, 
they would not be so likely to attend another. And so it was voted 
unanimously to ])ostpone the meeting at \'iola until next year. — 
the present officers to hold o\er until that time. 

Dedication Services 

At two o'clock on Wednesday afternoon people began to come 
to camp in crowds to attend the service of dedication. The big 
tent was j^acked full of ])eople long liefore three o'clock. Colonel 



Warner was the presiding- olVicer, and lie ke])! the l)ig audience good 
natured by giving out some of his l)ig stock of good stories. The 
g-ood old Colonel is a genial, happy man. and his li\ely humor on 
this occasion was contagious. 

1 cannot tell you how good everx'thing ahoul this dedication 
service was. The addresses were elo(|uent. the nuisic excellent. 
The si)irit of the occasion led everyone on the ])rogram to do his 
best. Colonel W'atrous, in making- the ])resentati{)n speech, re- 
viewed l)rietiy the work of the commission, and then spoke of the 
old da\s in Camp Randall, lie told what good service many of 
the boy soldiers of the C"i\ il War had since rendered our state ami 
nation as citizens and public officers. Professor McCiregor's speech 
of acceptance was. like all of his public addresses, clear and con- 
cise in language. It was i)atriolic in sentiment and scholarly in 
exjjression. Bishop I\allows is eloquent on every dig-nified oc- 
casion, and he held his audience spell bound on this one. It would 
take more time than I can now use to gi\e you anv ade(|uate analy- 
sis of his address. The Trousdale church choir sang as if ins|)ired. 
and I thi.ik they were, not <m\y their leader, the l\e\'. K. E. Morth. 
pastor of the church, but every one of theni. 

I will put down for you, Comrade Fosbinder, the g-eneral 
])rog-r;im of the two days. 

Tuesday, June 18. 

Sunrise fiun. 

9 o'clock — Registration, headquarters tent. Sons of \'eterans — Re- 

UTiion of comrades. comi)anies and regimeiUs. 

12 o'clock until 2 j). m. — Rations issued from the mess tent. Wo- 
man's Relief Corps. 

3 o'clock — Parade by regiments, comrades and tb.cir families. De- 
scrii)tion of the old camp by II. W. Rood. Roll call of 
regiments — (ieorg-e !>. Merrick. 

6 o'clock until 7 — Rations at mess tent. Relief Corj^s. 

S o'clock — Open-air cam])fire — rails and tar barrels, t'amp song-s 
and rapid-fire talks. 

10 o'clock — Taps. Lights out. 

Wednesday. June 19. 
Sunrise (iun. « 

7 o'clock till S — Rations at niess tent, Relief Corps. 



9 o'clock — fiirtlier re,e:istration at lieadquarters. Reunions oon- 

liiuied. 
12 o'clock until 2 p. m. — Rations at mess tent. Relief Corps. 

Program 

National Hymn — America. Trousdale church choir and audience. 

Invocation — Rev. \V. J. McKay. 

Patriotic Antheu] — ( )ur Flag. Trousdale church choir. 

Presentation of .Arch — Colonel J. A. Watrous, chairman of com- 
mission. 

Acceptance of Arch for the State — Professor Duncan McGregor, 
private secretary to (iovernor McCiovern. 

Battle Hymn of the Republic — Trousdale church choir. 

Dedicatorv .Address — Bisho]) .Samuel Fallows, of Chicago. 

Patriotic ,A.nthem — Columbia. (Jueen of the Nations — Trousdale 
church choir. 

Dedicatory Prayer— Rev. W. J. McKay. 

Star Spangled Banner — Choir and audience. 

Firing of Salute — Comrade John C. Martin. Cannoneer. 

Soon after the close of the dedication services the old comrades 
and their friends began to say good-bye. and within two hours the 
camp ground looked something as ours used to look after we' had 
struck tents and marched away. 

The next day. when we began to talk it all over, we felt that 
everything about our reunion and dedication had l)een about as near- 
ly ideal as it could be. The weather was delightful. — clear and not 
too warm. The attendance was large. Five hundred and sixty 
comrades had registered their names. Kverything on the program 
had gone off just as planned ; nobody shirked. There had been so 
happy a spirit manifest everywhere that everyone seemed to partake 
of it. It was a time to be pleasantly remembered all along our re- 
maining march. 

And so our Cam]) Randall .McuKjri.al .Arch was most happily 
dedicated. I-ong may it stand, a silent teacher of ])atriotism. 

The next day after the dedication a regiment of two thousand 
soldiers of the regular army — on a march to the military camp at 
.Sparta — marched inio Cam]) Randall for a rest of three days. As 
the men jiassed under our arch, led by a cavalcade of mounted 
officers, every officer, as a token of respect, removed his hat as he 
rode through. 



I must tell you. Coloucl I'roudtit. that the ])ark. to which this 
arch is the eutrance, is in time to l)e made both beautiful and his- 
toric. We shall ask the next lei^islatvn-e to i)r()vi(le for an exten- 
sion of the orrounds. southward, that will take in a grove of twen- 
ty-eight tine oak trees. To the west of our park, where we used to 
drill and have dress parade, the university regiment is to have its 
drill ground, and. prol)al)ly. an armory. It is now proi)osed by 
the university to remo\e from Camp Kandall e\er\thing connected 
with the athletic grounds and to prcjjare a new and more modern 
athletic held on the lake shore some distance west of the university. 
This will lea\e the old camp ground about as clear as it was in 
war times. All of it belongs to the state. The university has no 
title to it. but has been granted the use of it. 



Deaths. 

Since our last reunion I have heard of the death of Comrades 
as follows : 

Company A — Jasper George, Manchester, New Hampshire. 
September 6, 1910; Harvey Law, New Richmond, June 26. 1912; 
Charles F. Miller, Prescott, May 10, 1912. 

Company D — \V. R. Wescott, Barton, November 25, 1911; 
Edward K. Lord, Chicago, January 16. 1912 ; James D. Miller. 
Easton. January 21, 1912. 

Company E — Charles Headstream. Mauston, April 7. 1912; 
James E. Hoisington, Evansville, September 10. 1911; Charles S. 
Briggs, Reedsburg, June 12. 1912. 

Company H — Lieutenant James Lennon, Appleton, February 
29. 1912. 

Company K — Samuel P. Wayne. Soscobel, April 17, 1912. 

I presume there have been other deaths of which I have not 
heard. Will you not. Comrade, make it your business to report all 
facts concerning our boys that should be of interest to us, — re- 
movals, deaths, etc.? 



Financial Report 

In order that \ou may know tlie condition of our treasury, I 
am sending^ you tlie following: 



Amount on hand last report, August 29, 1911 $bU.80 

Received at West Bend reunion, August 30, 1911 40.50 

Receipts since that time 

1911 

August 31 lohn Ellingson 1.00 

31 Mrs. Colonel Bryant 1.00 

September 1 John Bell 1.00 

1 Marcus Pratt .50 

8 P. S. Gilson 1.00 

15 Stephen J. Davis .25 

15 Mrs. James Jackson .50 

16 Mrs. Susie Albert Nelson 1.00 

November 15 Carrie Enderbv 1.00 

17 Joseph Curtis 1.00 

19 Abraham Morehouse 3.00 

20 Erick Paul .50 

December 4 John B. Jones 1.00 

4 Hiram Schofield .25 

8 Samuel Albright 1.00 

15 Kundt Johnson 1.00 

2^ Albert Savage 1.00 

28 Interest on bank certificate 1.12 

1912 

lanuarv 1 Harrv Harris 1.00 

18 Wecel Novak .50 

28 Samuel \arney 1.00 

Februarv 21 B. L. Eighmv : .50 

June ' 20 William H thaver 1.00 

29 Emma A. Butler 1.00 

■ 19 Van S. Bennett 1.00 

19 Henry Shafer 1.00 

19 John Sutherand .50 

19 Ransom Kellogg .50 

19 L. D. Kellogg i .50 

19 C. M. Bliss 1.00 

19 Albert Savage 1.00 

$129.92 
Expenditures 

December 4, 1911 Paid for Printing Reunion Story 48.50 

Paid for postage for " " 11.00 

" " Paid for pictures for " " 3.00 

June 25, 1912 Paid for tent at Camp Randall 3.00 

Total $65.50 

Total amount received $129.92 

Total amcjunt expended 65.50 

July 22. 1912 Amt^unt on hand today $64.42 



10 



If any one hnds an error in this report, please let me know 
about it. 



Conclusion 

Comrade. I have l')een hojjini;- to i;et a ])icture of our arch to 
send you with this letter, hut I think now 1 shall ncjt be able to flo 
so. The statuary has come, but the figures have not been erected. 
I do not wish to send a picture of it until it is complete. If I can- 
not get it ready for this letter, you will get it some other time. 

I hope you will make it your business to attend our reunion at 
\'iola next year. When you know of anything concerning our com- 
rades that should be recorded, write to me. Help me keep my mail- 
ing list as nearlv correct as practicable. 

Cordially and PVaternally yours. 

Hosea W. Rood. 
Madison. Wisconsin. July 22. 1912. 

P. S. Say. Comrade Fairbanks, see if you can recall what we 
Vv'ere doing forty-eight years ago today. H. ^^'. R. 



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